Il me manque
In French, the phrase for "i miss him" is Il me manque.
You can also use the informal phrase Il me manque trop to say "I miss him so much", or the informal idiom Il me manque à mourir to say "I miss him to death".
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase Il me manque literally translates to "He is missing to me", where the person being missed is the subject of the sentence.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use Je le manque by following English word order. Instead, you must ensure the person being missed is the subject of the sentence, such as using Il or Elle.
Did you know?
- The root of the word manque comes from the Latin mancus, which originally described someone who was 'defective' or 'maimed'.
- Because manquer also means 'to miss a target' or 'to miss a train', saying Je le manque means you physically failed to catch or hit him.
- In French, 'missing' someone is not an action you perform, but a state of deficiency that the other person causes in you.
Examples in context
- Il me manque fort.I miss him a lot.This example shows how to say you miss him a lot using Il me manque.Tatoeba #2180444 by sacredceltic, translation #2179502 by Hybrid
- Il me manque terriblement.I miss him terribly.This example shows how to say you miss him terribly using Il me manque.Tatoeba #3416561 by GB3, translation #3416556 by mervert1
- Il me manque, je ne l'ai pas vu depuis longtemps.I miss him. I haven't seen him in a long time.This example shows how to express that you miss him because you haven't seen him in a long time using Il me manque.Tatoeba #12425752 by madjidoumnia, translation #13285024 by fdhsdfjfgf
- Je pense souvent à lui, il me manque énormément.I often think of him, I miss him a lot.
- Depuis son départ, il me manque beaucoup.Since he left, I miss him a lot.
- J'ai hâte de le voir, il me manque trop !I can't wait to see him, I miss him so much!
- Ces jours sans lui sont interminables, il me manque à mourir !These days without him are endless, I miss him to death!
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Léa and Gabriel are talking about Léa's brother while drinking coffee.
- LéaIl me manque beaucoup.I miss him a lot.
- GabrielTu veux l'appeler ?Do you want to call him?
- LéaNon, il est trop occupé.No, he is too busy.
- GabrielD'accord, on le verra bientôt.Okay, we will see him soon.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries il, manque, me, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
